The Other Kuroko
by Kami-Kani
Summary: Kuroko Tetsuya somewhat expected her return. It was bound to happen sooner or later, and it happened sooner. What he didn't expect was to wake up in bed with her, or for her to join his team, or to become one of the most popular girls in school. She always had to bring some sort of troubble into his somewhat peaceful life. But in the end, it wasn't so bad. OC x ?, Seirin Arc.
1. Chapter 1

Okay, let's get this going. *Spits on hands, rubs them together and ties a bandeau on her forehead*

This is my first work on this app/site, so please tell me everything you find wrong, so i can make it right. I hope you guys like it, please review, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: KnB is not for me. (That rhymes!) The plot and OCs are my property.

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A teal haired teenager woke up on a beautiful Thursday morning to the feeling of something wrapped around his waist. It felt vaguely familiar to him, as if it wasn't the first time that it had happened and that in the past it had been a normal occurrence, but the more sleep left his system the more he recognized what turned out to be an arm; that of a female, to be precise.

He already knew who it was; no other girl he knew would be bold enough to sneak in his bed at night, but for safety measures, he lifted the comforter to see the arm and was glad to recognize the tattoo on said female's wrist.  
He let out a content sigh and turned to face to the girl, with a small smile present on his face.

"Naomi… Wake up Naomi."

'Naomi' didn't even budge, so the boy concluded she must've been really tired, since in a normal situation she would've been woken up by his movement, and let her sleep.

He lay there in silence, staring at her face. God, had he missed her. Three years, that was the time they spent away from each other, and now he couldn't believe that she finally came back and was right next to him, sleeping soundly.

A slight vibration coming from behind him made him turn again, and he picked up his phone.

He wasn't really surprised to see that he had received a message from his red-head of an acquaintance, asking him where he was and why he hadn't come to school that day. He was however surprised to learn that he was missing school. Why was he late? Was it too late to go there?  
His suspicions were confirmed when he looked over at his alarm; not only was he late, but he already had missed half his classes for the day. He remembered he had Japanese History later on that day, but preferred staying home. He could always catch up later.

He sent a reply, telling him he was busy, and asking him to neither tell anyone but their teachers, coach and captain, to not call him nor come visit him at all.  
He then put his phone on silent mode and set it on the night-table, where it had previously been and turned back to face the girl before him. He frowned at the sight of the slightly dark rings under her eyes, but disregarded it, suspecting he had his own pair after being sleep deprived for a while.  
He always reprimanded her on the phone for not taking care of herself properly and overworking, but he couldn't bring himself to do it just then without being hypocritical.

He sighed once more and let his mind empty itself as he focused more on her presence.  
He quickly noticed the changes that took over her physique the past few years.

First, she seemed a lot taller than she was before; judging by the way she was laying down, she probably was an inch or two shorter than him. It also seemed that her facial beauty hadn't slacked either. Her lashes were longer, a few almost unnoticeable pimples were here and there, and she had a much sharper jaw-line and slightly full eyebrows. Even if there was prominent change, he was happy to remark that her button nose was still the same; her pink and plump lips hadn't changed either, her high cheek bones remained and her cheeks! Oh, those chubby-wubby cheeks, still adorned with their usual and natural rosiness, looked as cute as ever (she however hated this trait, preferring to have the half shallow ones that bring out your cheekbones and eyes, while he found them adorable).

 _'_ _I wonder if they're still so soft…'_ he poked at one of her cheeks, and chuckled silently as she squirmed in discomfort. ' _She seems to still hate having her face touched in her sleep.'_ he mused happily.

In the midst of squirming, she managed to tangle her legs with the boy's, something that made him momentarily uncomfortable, but once she stopped moving, he warmed up to it.

Again, God had he missed her. He couldn't wait for her to wake up. She'd say something totally random, then she'd smile that lazy grin of hers and—

"You're being a creep, aren't you Tetsuya?"

Tetsuya looked down at the girl in front of him.

"Says the girl who sneaks into my bed while I'm asleep." Kuroko responds, removing the arm around him and sitting up.  
"Hey! It's not my fault that **_someone_** decided to move into an apartment with only **_one bedroom_** when he left the family house to live in Tokyo! I could've slept on the couch, but we both know I'm **_way_** too good for that, and I wasn't going to kick you out either so I jumped in. Quite literally. Remind me to get you a more comfy bed when we move out; yours is like this carpet: hard and uncomfortable."  
"You seem pretty comfortable in it right now." Tetsuya sassed.  
"Don't start! I'm too tired, that's all! Besides, it's been a long time since we've last done something like this. It's nostalgic."

The girl sat up and ran her hand through her unruly teal bed hair, and giggled noticing the very same problem Tetsuya was having.

"Come on, Naomi, we can't be doing this. We aren't—"  
"I know, I know, but it reminds me of the time we've shared our mother's womb, our cribs and all that jazz!"

Tetsuya laughed softly at his twin sister. "You don't remember anything beyond our 5th birthday."  
"Way to ruin the mood! And I actually thought you were going to say something heartfelt." Naomi pouted cutely and got off of the bed, heading toward the many suitcases she placed in a corner of the room.

Tetsuya followed her example and rose, but instead of going to get his stuff, he brought out a couple of towels and handed them to her as she took out a toothbrush and toiletries.

"You know… I really missed you!" she smiled caringly, giving him a bear hug as she took the towels from her brother.  
"Yeah… I missed you too." he patted her head and pointed to a door. "That's the bathroom. Go take a shower and clean up. You stink."  
"IDIOT!"

 ** _ó_** ** _The Other Kuroko_** ** _ó_**

"What do you mean, 'there is nothing here'?! What have you been eating?!"  
"Maji Burger isn't very far and it's on my way home from school so…"  
"Tetsuya! What about proteins?! The veggies, and milk, and all those nutriments you need?!"  
"Maji Burger sells fries, which are potatoes, so veggies. Also, I daily consume vanilla milkshakes there and the food there is pretty rich."  
"Tetsuya! Now is not the time to be a smart-ass! You tell me to eat healthy while you've been living off of junk food ever since you moved in here!"  
"Sorry."

Tetsuya wasn't sorry, and Naomi knew it.

She had decided to make breakfast for the both of them, but Kuroko had nothing comestible in the whole house—the refrigerator wasn't even turned on! It bothered her greatly that her dear brother hadn't been eating properly at all, and pained her that he didn't seem to care.

"That's it! I've decided! I will take over kitchen duties and make food for us every day, and you will stop going to Maji Burger until I decide you'll be responsible enough to go and eat anything but junk food!" Naomi stated. "Have I been clear?"  
"Yes, Captain-Boss-Woman." Tetsuya said sarcastically, earning a grunt from Naomi.

He'd forgotten how fun it was to annoy his sister, especially since she had very amusing reactions.  
He used to tease her all the time, before she left; he'd mock her constantly, and she'd become flustered, the he'd apologize, and she'd forgive him, then the cycle would repeat endlessly.

"Hello?...Yes, I'd like to order, please…One bowl of ramen, one of miso soup, two bowls of rice, one pack of sushi and a bit of tofu…yes, that's it…thank you!" Naomi sat on the couch and started typing on her phone as soon as the call ended.  
"Who was that?" Tetsuya asked, sitting next to her.  
"I was just ordering some food, for us; since it's already afternoon, why not have lunch?" Naomi, who had seemingly gotten over her irritation, smiled.  
"I see." He smiled back. "Now tell me why you suddenly left America."  
"Is it wrong to want to come see my favorite brother?" she asked innocently.  
"First of all, I'm your only brother, so favoritism isn't possible. Secondly, it's wrong to use that as an excuse." Tetsuya replied.

Naomi sighed. "I really missed Japan, and you guys, but I have this feeling something is going to happen this year, and that'll have to be here. Besides, my contract expired the day before yesterday, so I took the opportunity to come back. There was no way I was returning to that hell-hole."  
"What makes you say that?" Tetsuya asked.  
"I… In the studio, things can get pretty intense, and well… it's not really the adrenaline type of intense I'm talking about. A-anyway! Tell me about your basketball! You haven't talked about ever since last year."  
"…My basketball is… progressing I guess…" Tetsuya turned away from his twin's questioning gaze.  
"Hm… it seems we both are hiding things, huh? We should really open up." Naomi hummed.  
"You say that but we have reasons not to. Maybe some other time. You just came back, so staying here and dwelling on the past will just ruin our mood." Tetsuya replied. "Well, I'll go fix my room up, I won't take long. In the meantime, would you mind setting the table, please? The bowls are in the cupboard, and everything else is in the drawers."  
"Hai!"

As soon as Tetsuya had left the living room, Naomi got to work. She brought out the unused bowls and washed them (Dust had been accumulating in them), then took out the chopsticks, cups and other things she'd assumed she'd need, when the doorbell rang.

"Coming!" she set everything on the table and rushed over to the door. "Who is it?"  
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, I'm here to deliver the ramen and miso soup!"

Naomi opened the door and flashed a smile to the deliver guy. "Thank you! I really was looking forward to this! I've been gone for so long, but even though there is ramen a bit everywhere in the world, there's just something heartfelt about having it here in Japan, at home with family, don't you think?"  
"Err- yeah!" Naruto, for the first time, met a beautiful girl his age with the same passion for ramen he had. Was it fate? Destiny?  
"O-oh, I'm sorry, I was ranting again!"  
"N-nah, it is fine! I get what you mean; I feel the same way sometimes!" Naruto grinned in a flustered way, scratching the back of his head.  
"How much will this all be?" she asked, taking a peek in to the bag.  
"Ah- um, n-nothing! On the house, but only if you promise to order again!" he stuttered.  
"Um? Is that all? Okay then, just be waiting on my call, I'll probably be ordering again tonight or tomorrow." she smiled. "Thank you for your services!"  
"O-of course!"

The girl closed the door, and Naruto let out a sigh. Sakura would kill him for not bringing back any money, and Kakashi would probably just tease him because he was too shy to ask for a girl—Crap, he didn't know her name!

"What was _that_?" Tetsuya sent a reprimanding look at his confused twin, who sent everything on the table.  
"What was what? Me closing the door?" she asked, pouring her ramen into her bow carefully.  
"No, you _flirting with that_ _ **… guy**_." Tetsuya spat out harshly, as if spitting nails.  
"Flirting? Oh, no, that wasn't flirting at all. I was just being friendly and he returned the favor, end of story." She served the white rice after pouring Tetsuya's miso soup in his bowl.  
"Dear sister, I, as a boy, can detect when another guy likes a girl and when he makes a move on her. He was trying to get your attention." Tetsuya helped her with the rest of the food, then they sat down.  
"Dear brother, why is this bothering you so much? I mean, it wasn't flirting—I've flirted before, and this doesn't even come close. I'm talking from experience, see?" she said, taking her first bite of a sushi roll.

Tetsuya froze that instant. His sister… his poor, poor sister… her mind has been scarred and tainted by the perverted way of males!

"Who is the one who introduced you to such perversion, Naomi?"  
Naomi rolled her eyes at her brother's exaggeration. "The one I first flirted with? Listen, Tetsuya, I don't even remember him, and if I did I wouldn't tell you because I highly suspect you'd try to hurt him. Like you said earlier, let's just enjoy now and talk of problems later." she stated, eating some of her rice.

Tetsuya sighed and gave up, but gave her a stern look that said 'this is not over yet'.

She shrugged it off, and ate her ramen; Naomi was just happy to be with her brother again.


	2. Chapter 2

Second Chapter is out and ready to be read! (Izuki-sensei would be proud.) Remember that this is my first KnB story and my first story on , so please don't hold back with the constructive critism. I will ignore all forms of hate. I'm sorry if there are any typos around here, I'm not the best at proof reading. Enjoy the chapter!

Oh, and today's question: What would you do if you discovered an abandoned theater?

Disclaimer: I do not own Kuroko no Basket. I only own the OCs, the plot and... whatever else Tadatoshi Fujimaki-sama doesn't, in this story.

* * *

"Just call if you need anything, okay? Don't hesitate, even if I'm in class, I can sneak out and talk to you."

"I don't think it'll have to go that far, but I get the gist of it." Naomi yawned tired.  
"Okay, I'll be on my way then. Take care." Tetsuya waved.  
"You too, Tetsu, have a good day."

Naomi locked the door behind her brother and sat on the couch. She knew wouldn't be able to fall asleep again, so she decided to just laze around for once. She stared at her phone, unsure of what to do, but said to heck with it and started looking for apartments with two or three rooms not too far from there. So had began a long day of boredom.

Tetsuya walked silently to school, thinking of how things would happen from then on. First of all, he'd have to keep away all predators (potential boyfriends/girlfriends) away from her; that was top priority. Second, he'd also have to move out of his apartment, but Naomi would probably work those details. Third, he had to somehow keep his team in check, because even some of his teammates weren't courageous enough to be considered predators, he just had the feeling that she'd be the subject of many of their perverted thoughts and/or discussions, if not put in their place.

Deep in thought, Tetsuya accidently bumped into his hot-headed friend, Kagami Taiga.

"GAH-! Kuroko?! Since when were you there?!"  
"Sorry, I just got here, but I wasn't paying attention either." Tetsuya rearranged his slightly wrinkled clothes as he spoke.  
"Hey, what was happening yesterday? What were you so busy with?" Kagami asked as they began walking together.  
"Nothing big; an unexpected visitor came by yesterday very early in the morning, and is staying with me." Tetsuya said vaguely—he'd rather not tell Kagami that he had a sister and that she'd be living with him.  
"You have your own place, too? I thought you lived with your parents or something." Kagami scratched his head.  
"I used to. When you said 'too', do you mean you have your own apartment too?"  
"Yup. I was supposed to live there with my dad, but he got held up so I'm on my own until he can come."

Tetsuya nodded in acknowledgement and glanced at the main office of the school, mentally debating whether or not to go pick up transfer papers for Naomi, and when he reached a conclusion he silently slipped away from the red-head.

 ** _The Other Kuroko_**

"Would it be alright if we passed tomorrow? My brother is in school right now, and I don't think I'll be able to choose for the both of us."  
"Of course, miss! I'll only be free at noon, though so you'll have to be there on time."  
"I understand. Thank you for your time."  
"Likewise."

Naomi, after showering and finding the top five paces that suited her tastes, had talked to real estate agents and they had arranged meetings on different days and hours. She was now done with writing a (kilometric) list of groceries, cleaning supplies, beds and other things that were more or less necessary, and did her transfer to Seirin online, the only thing left was getting the terms and conditions paper signed, but that wouldn't be a problem. Three hours had passed since Tetsuya had left for school, and he had five hours left, counting two from the time he would pass at practice.

What would she do with five hours to spare?

She took out her phone and searched 'The Bored Button', but it didn't really satisfy her at all. She would've cooked, something she enjoyed doing, but as you know, there was no food.

She would've put her stuff away, but nope, she had nowhere to put them.

She stared at the clock hanging in the wall, taping her fingers according to the tic-tac sound it made. She taped her feet rhythmically, and then it hit her: she could create some new dance moves!  
Why hadn't she thought of it earlier?

She exchanged the jeans for yoga pants, kept the crop top, added a black cap some sneakers and her Bluetooth-connected headphones.

She had five hours; she had enough time to come up with a full choreography! Now she just had to find a place to dance (because she doubted that neighbors would appreciate hearing her feet stomping rapidly or the impact for a jump), and choose a song (and she already had one in mind).

She walked out of the apartment, key in pocket, to wander around town and find a place to dance, or at least a group of dancers to join. She walked down the street, as if heading for Maji Burger, but took a detour right before getting there.  
She curiously entered a dark alleyway with arrows on the walls, pointing toward the end of it. She shivered a bit, but Naomi followed the arrows anyway, because, well, in movies, you always get a cool surprise when following the arrows, right?

She crept further into the alley, and it became darker and darker. After a while, she reached the dead-end of the alley. Was that it? It couldn't possibly be! There had to be something beyond it!

She pulled out her phone (while questioning herself about why she hadn't done so in the first place) and let it shine on the walls. She quickly took notice of the arrow pointing down, and wasn't surprised to see what looked like a sewer pipe, but noticing the lack of stench and the fact that it went directly through the wall, she thought it'd be a safe thing to go in; perhaps her cool surprise was on the other side!

With her torch shinning bright, crawling in and out of the pipe wasn't a problem. What happened to be the problem actually was the dark pit on the other side. It was so dark; she couldn't even see the end of it! Fear of falling glued her to her spot, but curiosity stopped her from leaving too. Where was this place? And what was with the arrows outside?

She decided to go back, but while moving to turn around, she slipped and fell towards the pit.

'Is this my end?' she had thought.

The thing that was really surprising was that she landed almost immediately. As if the floor were only 10 inches away... Naomi shone her torch on the floor, and realized that it was actually black, and that the whole pit thing was just an optical illusion. Who would've thought of that?

Now, Naomi's curiosity boosted. _Why_ would someone think of it?

She walked around with the torch, trying to find a light in the seemingly big space, and when she had successfully found one, she gasped.

Yes, it was a huge cliché, but she found an abandoned theater, not all that run-down, just dirty and dusty. Actually, it looked like it hadn't been used in at most five years. She noticed some quite modern instruments here and there, and seemed delighted.

"This probably is where some dancers would group up to dance at night when the no-dancing law was still active…" she told herself. "It would explain why the floor is black—seeing an endless pit would discourage anyone, police or not." She smiled and looked around. It seemed so vintage, and even being dirty, she could see the theater's beauty.

"…It's decided, then. I'll clean this place up, and this is where I'll dance freely!" she declared. "But first…"

With an uncertain smile, she carefully stepped onto the stage. She heard a few squeaks from below, most likely startled mice, and did a little jump, just to check to stability of the wooden boards. Noticing nothing worry-worthy, Naomi picked a random song from her playlist and started dancing.

 _I can do it like your brother, do it like a dude, grab my crotch, wear my hat low, like you._

 _Do it like your brother, do it like a dude, grab my crotch, wear my hat low like you._

Naomi shuffled her feet and spin to the side, then pretended to grab her crotch with her left hand, her cap with the right, and rolled her hips, going lower with each movement.

 _We can do it like a man'dem, man'dem_

 _We can do it like a man'dem,_

 _Sugar, sugar, sugar._

She swayed her hips to the side at each repetition of 'man, dem', then lifted her leg and twerked while turning to the side.

 _We can do it like a man'dem, man'dem_

 _We can do it like a man'dem,_

 _Sugar, sugar, sugar._

To top off the short dance, she crouched and continued swaying her hips, and at the last 'sugar' she stood up gracefully in a pose.

Oh, she just knew she was going to enjoy it, there.

 ** _The Other Kuroko_**

"Um… Captain?"  
"GAH—ARGH! When did you get here, Kuroko?!"  
"I've been here for a while." Tetsuya felt amused by the amount of surprise he was capable of bringing out. "I wanted to know, where is coach? I want to sign up officially."  
"Officially? Sorry, but that isn't possible right now. If you want to sign up you'll have to be on the roof, Monday morning at eight forty." Riko stated, pausing the game she was playing to answer Kuroko.  
"Oh. I'll be there."  
"Okay, don't be late or else—GAH! Where is he?!"

Kuroko gave an amused look back at the class room, and walked away silently.

That went pretty well. All he had to do was submit the application form, and he'd be in the basketball club. Then came the Naomi problem.  
He knew she'd fit in just fine in school, heck, everyone would love her! His problem remained in that fact—she loved basketball; not as much as he did, but still a lot. If there wasn't a female boxing club (there wasn't), she'd probably join his (not quite) team (she will), and even though he got a general idea of who they were, he couldn't just let her be around those (hormonal) teenage boys; especially not if the ones who perved on his (not yet) coach made it on the team. He paused when he heard a familiar voice screaming from the way he came from, and assumed it was Kagami with his (still not yet) coach.  
Again, Naomi would probably join his (you get the point) team, but how could he get them to not approach her?  
Tell them that she was his sister? No, that'd just make her seem more accessible since, some would try to use him as a meddler/matchmaker.  
Try to make her look bad? Nah, he'd never do that, and even if he did manage to embarrass her, she'd probably be mad at him and end up looking cute.  
Try to make her look off limits? Sure, but how? He couldn't make himself pass as her boyfriend—that was incest, and his sister would refuse ASAP.  
Perhaps he could convince her to make up a boyfriend and—no, that was just ridiculous.

What could he do to protect his sister from the male predators around the school?

Tetsuya stopped at the library to look at an old newspaper cut-out showing the previous year's basketball team members, with the caption **"Men's Basketball Rookie Game 'Kanto Tournament Debut' ".**

He soon noticed a red head that came to stand by him; how fast did he get there?  
"He wasn't kidding…" muttered Kagami.  
"Yes, they're strong." Tetsuya nodded.

The jolt of terror earned by the redhead almost made Tetsuya smile, but he managed to keep it in.  
"Why can't you show up normally?!" Kagami panted, trying to relieve his heart, and this only added to the humor of Tetsuya, and his face when he pointed to the library was even funnier, but it ended there as Kagami grabbed his head and clenched his fist.  
"You're making fun of me, aren't you?!" he growled.  
"No." was Tetsuya's answer, and he was glad it was enough to make Kagami let him go. "That hurts." he commented carefully as Kagami seemed to be mentally assessing (criticizing) him.

Not really appreciating that, Tetsuya left.

The rest of his day was uneventful. He discovered that the previous day, they hadn't begun practice, unlike at Teiko, so he could get home two hours earlier than he thought he would.

Two free hours, two hours he could use to find a way to keep his sister from being tainted by the perversion males spread across the world (This is only level one (over) protectiveness. I, as a (very over) protective being, I would know).

 ** _The Other Kuroko_**

Naomi sat in a café not far from her house, happily sipping on a caramel black tea, enjoying the spring weather. She could already imagine what the place would look like when she'd have her team clean it up for her—what? Couldn't a lazy teenager employ professional cleaners to fix the place up for her? Was it illegal? Nope.

She had called the very moment she'd found another way out, and had them come over to check the place up. They'd start working the next Monday, and never had she been so glad that her previous job as a dancer on a few TV shows back in America payed so well, because, damn would it cost her! More than a quarter of her savings flew out the window the very instant she agreed to a contract, but it was fine, she knew she wouldn't regret it.  
After leaving the place, she still had three hours before her brother came home, and her rumbling stomach gave her a warning that it had ran out of things to digest, so she had headed to the quickest place to find food; the café she was in. (She had a feeling she'd be coming over often, because, damn, those teas were already nice, but the blueberry bunch menu was excellent!)

She then thought of a game plan. She had already arranged the place they'd live in, just had to choose, since all were really affordable; she was all ready for school, she just had to grab her uniform and sign the remaining piece of paper, and she could do that on Monday.  
She had a place she could rehearse at, but she'd have to wait two or three weeks before being able to actually start rehearsing there.  
All she had to do had been done, so what in the world could she do now? ('The Bored Button' and 'Take Me to a Useless Website' weren't options.)

She thought of visiting her brother at school, but had the vague feeling he didn't want her there yet, so didn't go, but still decided to take a walk nearby, as in, pass right in front of the school.

She paid for her tea and the blueberry bunch she ordered, and left the café, walking at a slow, unrushed pace. She played some music on her headphones, and looked around, enjoying the sight of Tokyo during the day. Her brother had given her very detailed descriptions of the place when he first arrived, so she could more-or-less navigate towards Seirin.

The birds were chirping, children laughing, adults enjoying the tranquility of that one neighborhood. A gentle smile found its place on her face as she inched closer to her brother's school, enjoying the sight of such peaceful scenery along the way.  
She walked for a while, sometimes pausing to look at interesting things, such as a small kitten, barely old enough to take care of himself, with what seemed to be his mother, or a child asking for her attention. Before she knew it, she was a few feet away from Seirin's gate, and she could she a few eager-to-leave students rush out of the school. She approached slowly, looking closely at the uniforms (She'd probably wear leggings under those, because damn, those skirts were so tiny, she'd probably flash the whole school just by sitting down!). She wasn't worried; her brother must've been already heading to practice, or even already there, if he was excited. There was no way he'd see her if she didn't set foot in the school.

"Wow, for a new school, there is quite a big number of students, huh?" a voice sounded behind her.  
"You tell, me." She sighed.  
"GAH! W-Who are you, and when did you get here?!"  
"I've been here for the past five minutes." Naomi stated dryly.  
"B-but how come—is this becoming a trend or something?!"

Naomi looked at the person before her in slight confusion. Had she been a victim of her brother?  
"I'm sorry, but I have an abnormally low presence, unless I purposely make myself known, but judging by your reaction, you've already met Tetsuya." She mused.  
"Who?" the caramel haired girl placed a finger on her chin, as if thinking.  
"Kuroko Tetsuya, teal hair and eyes, this tall, disappears randomly after scaring the lights out of you."  
"Ah! Kuroko-kun! I know him. Yes. Are you close, to call him by his first name?"  
"You could say that. My name's Naomi."  
"And I'm Riko, Aida Riko, coach of Seirin's basketball team."  
"Nice meeting you, Riko-san—wait, if you're coach, don't you have practice right now?"  
"Hm? No, we don't. The forms haven't been accepted yet. We still have one last thing to test out before that."

Color drained from Naomi's face. Her brother was going to come out any moment then!

"Riko-san, I have to go, but never, ever, **ever** mention meeting me to Tetsu. **_Ever_**. I beg of you. See you on Monday!".

With that, Naomi bolted out of there, running as fast as she could towards their house. What was she so afraid of any way?! It wasn't like he'd be mad or anything!  
But that persisting feeling that her brother didn't want her near the school had pushed to react the way she did.  
Besides, she knew from experience never to ignore a twin's intuition; when you felt that your other half wouldn't like something, you don't do it, at all.

After a twenty minute walk was turned into a ten minute sprint, Naomi finally made it to the apartment, fumbled a bit with the keys and entered quickly. She threw off her clothes and tossed them in the hamper, before jumping in the shower. Sure, she should've let her body cool down first, but she was trying to hide from her brother! Could you blame her?

She was in there for a little over fifteen minutes when she heard the door open and shut.

"Naomi? Are you here?" she heard her twin's voice.  
"Y-yeah! I'm in the bathroom!" she winced once she noticed her voice sounded an octave too high to seem genuine, but had still hoped for her brother to not to be suspicious her.  
"Okay. I've brought groceries for dinner. I had a little bit of money left from my allowance, so I bought what I could." He told her.  
"Yeah, thanks! I'll be out in a minute!" she stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her, before sneaking into her brother's room and putting on a pair of leggings and a long off-the-shoulder shirt, that went past her hips. Once dressed, she entered the living room, where her pensive brother sat, staring at the ceiling.

"Well, don't you look bored." She giggled, catching his attention.  
"Hm? Oh, sorry, I was just thinking." Tetsuya smiled a little.  
"I've noticed."

She walked past him and to the kitchen, taking a look at the grocery bag.  
"What did you do today?" he asked her, his voice getting a bit further as he headed to his room.  
"Oh, I found us a few interesting offers for apartments, got most of my school transferring done, found I place where I could dance in peace, and took a walk near—um, uh not very far!" Naomi slapped herself for almost letting what happened slip, but regained composure as Tetsuya's voice came closer.  
"Not far, huh? As in, near Seirin?"

Naomi decided then that she'd never try to hide anything again. What use would it be for her to do so if Tetsuya would find out?  
"Y-yes?"  
"And why didn't you come see me?" Tetsuya asked.  
"I… felt like you wouldn't want me to come there yet." Naomi bit her lip.  
"Hm? Oh, Naomi, it's not that I don't want you there; it's just that I don't want you to come in contact with any predators unknowingly. I want to be there when you first enter, so that I can guide you." Tetsuya replied.  
"…It's weird when you speak like that, like an overprotective stalker!" Naomi laughed.  
"Laugh as you will, dear sister, I'm only looking out for you."  
"Oh please!" Naomi rolled her eyes. "Predators? I know a player when I see one. Also, I bet you've been thinking up a way to keep me away from any type of male, because they'll taint me or something!"

Tetsuya turned his head, unwilling to admit that his twin was right, and pouted slightly.

"I'll be fine, there's a reason why I took boxing classes while in America. I've been up against predators before, so don't think too much about it. Besides, you're supposed to be helping me make dinner! Lazy ass, always up for basketball, but when it comes to helping me, you're too 'deep in thought' or 'tired'."  
Tetsuya laughed his sister, and joined her in the kitchen.

Perhaps, she was right. Maybe he shouldn't think of it too much and just let her handle herself. She was strong and audacious, had a good amount of common sense and knew how to pack a punch. She'd be fine.


	3. Chapter 3

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAnd it's out! Chapter 3, chapter 3, come along and dance with me! Wou-hoo! Yeah!

Disclaimer: KnB is not for me, but i own the plot and OCs!

* * *

Tetsuya and Naomi were already walking towards Seirin, uniform and all, ready as they would ever be in their lives.  
Tetsuya would undergo the plan Riko had to get in the team, and Naomi would finally be able to go to school with her brother, as they did long ago in the past.  
Ah, those were the days. Of course, they'd always been shunned because of their common ability to appear and disappear at random, but they had fun in their own little bubble, discovering new things, pretending and all. No, it wouldn't be the same, they knew, but it was as close as they could get.  
With a slight skip in her steps, with a slight slump of relaxation in his shoulders, the twins entered the school.  
"Hey, Tetsu. Do you want people to know we're siblings?" Naomi asked randomly.  
"Why do you ask that?" Tetsuya was confused.  
"Well, you seem to not want people to know for 'tainting reasons'." she teased.  
"… Do as you wish. I just want you to be safe." Tetsuya shrugged.

Of course, he preferred to have her known as a close friend (because when ever people say that, these days, the others back off almost immediately) but he knew it'd hurt his sister in some way, and he didn't want that.

Naomi, as if reading her brother's mind, had thought of a way to get her brother what he wanted and not feel sad about it.  
"Hey, Tetsu. What if we don't tell anyone? If they ask, we let them know we're siblings, if not, we don't say anything. Besides, I bet my bento box that they won't be able to tell we're related at all!" Naomi lifted her handmade bento box, the same white color as her brother's.  
Tetsuya let the idea sink in. Why not? It solved his problem and hers, two birds with one stone. That and it'd be easier for him to keep it on the down-low until he knew his team members well enough to trust them with his life; then he'd think of letting them approach Naomi in a platonic way.  
"It's a good idea. As I said, do what you want, I'm fine with anything, except befriending predators and all."  
"Of course you'd say that!" Naomi laughed out loud, before telling her brother "This doesn't mean I'll stop acting the same though. I'll still be ordering you around and attacking you with death hugs."

Naomi laughed again at Tetsuya's reaction; pale and sweat profusely, with a weak 'Please don't, I may not survive'.

They finally reached the main office, and Tetsuya left her there, heading towards the roof for whatever Riko had planned.

Naomi entered the office after politely knocking, and was greeted by a woman who didn't even notice her presence.

"Ano… Miss?" Naomi moved to stand before the lady.  
"OH DEAR LORD—you've scared me, child!" said lady placed a hand on her chest, trying to clam herself.  
"S-sorry! I'm just a little hard to notice, especially when I'm silent." Naomi bowed.  
"It… it's fine… I'll have to place a bell here or something." The lady muttered to herself, taking her seat and then looked at Naomi. "I'm Mishote Haruka, the secretary. I take it you are the new student?"  
"Yes!" Naomi nodded.  
"I knew it; not many people come around at this hour." Mishote sighed and sat back down."Here is the paper you're here for. Sign this, and you'll be free to go. You can roam around for a while, but only for today. Right now is the Monday Morning Assembly."  
"Hm? I thought that something else was happening." Naomi thought out loud.  
"Something like what?" Mishote looked curiously at Naomi.  
"Well, I've heard a rumor about the basketball team being on the roof, but…"  
"The roof?! Not that again!" Naomi stared dumbly as Mishote rushed into the dean's office, then out with the said dean.  
"Them?! Oh, they'll be getting it, this time!" was the last thing Naomi heard before they abandoned her there.

"…Did I say something I shouldn't have…?"

 ** _ó_** ** _The Other Kuroko_** ** _ó_**

Naomi apologized to her brother, guilt overwhelming her. Not only had she unknowing told on her brother and his team, but she also stopped him from passing the initiation! If only she knew how to keep her mouth shut!

"It's fine, Naomi. No harm was done, and surely I'll get another chance."  
"Yeah, but that was your best shot, and I ruined it!" Naomi insisted.  
"No, you didn't; you only gave me a chance to stand out even more. I won't be doing it like the others, so I'll have a better chance of getting in. Coach says that we have to prove that we can fight for it, so I'm ready to do what it takes." Tetsuya took a deep breath after that; he usually didn't speak that much.  
"…you sure you're not secretly mad at you and are planning to draw on my face in my sleep? Because if you are, I'll be sleeping in the park, tonight." Naomi giggled at the face Tetsuya made and shook her head. "Just kidding! I'm glad you're not mad, though. The last time you were mad, I shivered, and coming from the horror movie fanatic, that's something."  
"Of course, you were kidding. Let's just get you to class, hm?" Tetsuya patted her head.  
"Nah, I'll be fine. Go ahead; my teacher will take care of everything. See you at lunch?" Naomi smiled her lazy grin.  
"Yeah; don't sleep in class." Tetsuya reminded.  
"No promises!" she smirked as she turned around the corner.

Tetsuya shook his head playfully at her and headed to his own class. It pained him, how she'd be in a different class than him, but at least her class was right next to his; he could easily find her at lunch, and join her in her class to eat. He turned at the same corner his sister had done, and walked past the class he supposed she was in, and wasn't surprised to hear tons of questions being thrown at her; she was just like that. Passed unnoticed often, but once in the spot-light, she became a human magnet, to say the least.  
He thought vaguely about the boys in her class, and could practically _feel_ them fawning over her, but he let it be.

They could enjoy the time they had getting to know her, because that was as far as they'd get, as long as he was there.

 ** _ó_** ** _The Other Kuroko_** ** _ó_**

"Hey, Kuroko!" Tetsuya turned to face Kagami, slightly annoyed he was being held back from meeting with Naomi.  
"Is there anything you need, Kagami-kun?"  
"I was wondering what you'd be doing, since you haven't really passed the test."  
"I'll figure something out." Tetsuya replied walking away.  
"Hey, wait! Where are you going, aren't you eating with the team?" Kagami yelled.  
"Nope." Tetsuya then abandoned a screeching Kagami to deal with a teacher passing by, feeling a bit bad for him being scolded for screaming, but still headed over to Naomi's class.

He was unsurprised to see her sitting near a window, surrounded by a few people (mostly guys), from whom he recognized Furihata, Fukuda and Kawahara.

"Wow, Naomi-san, that's so cool!" Furihata praised.  
"Oh, please don't flatter me, it wasn't that big of a deal. I know someone who's even cooler when playing basketball. He should be here any moment now." Naomi smiled at them.  
"Huh? Is there someone you know here?" Kawahara asked.  
"Is he in the basketball team? Maybe we know him." Fukuda added.  
"Well, I guess you could say that he's in the team, and yes, he's actually the main reason I came back to Japan and joined Seirin."  
" _Ooooooh_ , is this a secret boyfriend I'm hearing of?" a girl placed a hand at the side of her mouth to hide the grin she had on her face, ready to get details on a secret relationship.  
"Hm? No, he's not my boyfriend, but… I guess you could say we're **_very_** close." Naomi blushed slightly at the mention of a boyfriend, and Tetsuya immediately noticed it and felt relieved.

If she was nervous and flustered by the subject of having a boyfriend, it meant she wasn't ready to have one altogether.

"So does that mean you're single?" a voice came from the further end of the room."Because I wouldn't mind changing that status for you, sweetheart."

Naomi turned to see a boy sitting at the back of the room, a slight smirk on his face as he stared openly at her.

Tetsuya suddenly felt the need to punch someone, but the look Naomi sent him told him she could handle it. Besides, it'd be the perfect occasion to finally know how exactly his twin dealt with undesirable people.

"While I am currently single, I actually have standards, and you don't fit them in the least. It'd be much appreciated now if you buzzed off, because quite frankly, you're bugging me."

The boy stood up in rage, ready to put Naomi in her place, but just as he reached her, he was held back.

"She asked you to buzz off, didn't she? I'm pretty sure it'd be in your best interest to do as she says."  
"GAH-WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?!" the boy jumped in fear, as did many people surrounding them.  
"Was he always there?" "Who is that guy?" "What the—"

Tetsuya ignored the various reactions and spoke once more to the startled boy.

"Where I come from doesn't matter. What does, though, is that you leave Naomi alone. I'd hate to repeat myself."

The boy, still half-surprised fought out the courage to face the 'phantom'.

"Do you know who I am?! I'm Kurosaki Tenishima! The grandson of the director, I could get you expelled—"  
"I'm Kuroko Tetsuya, a close friend to Naomi, over there, and quite frankly, getting me expelled is just giving her another reason to leave this school. Besides that, you could try to get me expelled, but how exactly do you plan to do so? Frame me? Fight me? I'm pretty sure you have nor the courage, nor the wits to get me expelled, so before further rendering yourself even more ridiculous, I recommend leaving her alone."

The crowd that began to form around them exaggeratedly cheered the phantom, as the embarrassed Kurosaki shot a glare to all of them.

"This isn't over! I'll get you for this!" he yelled as he walked out.

Tetsuya, with a newfound satisfaction, was unsurprised to receive Naomi's hug, that he only half returned.

"Huh?! Kuroko, you know Naomi-san?!" asked Furihata.  
"He called her by her first name with no honorifics too… Wait, could it be that… You're her close friend?!" Fukuda gasped as Tetsuya and Naomi nodded as an answer to both questions.  
"Thanks, Tetsu, but I totally could've handled that alone." Naomi pouted.  
"I know, but I have a feeling your ways would've been less handling and more violent." Tetsuya patted her head.

The crowd dispersed a bit after that, some because they wanted to give them a little bit of privacy, most because they just couldn't see them.

Tetsuya and Naomi sat at Naomi's desk, took out their matching bentos, gave a small prayer before starting to eat.

"Hey, Tetsu… how are you going to join the club?" Naomi asked, her mouth half full with a rice-ball.  
"Please don't speak with your mouth full. I've seen enough of your half-chewed food as a child." Tetsuya replied.  
"H-Hey! That's not- I bet you don't remember!" Naomi was thankful she'd swallowed the rice-ball, because she probably would've spit it out after that remark.  
"Our tenth birthday, is one example. The cake incident, does it ring a bell?" Tetsuya smirked slightly.  
"Don't change subjects! What are you going to do?"

Tetsuya put down his chopsticks and looked at Naomi. What was she so curious about? He knew she'd help him, but she'd never get excited for something like.

"Why would you like to know, Naomi? Are you planning to join too?"  
"So what if I am?" Naomi asked. "There are no dance clubs, nor are there combat clubs here, apart from Kendo, and you know I hate it. The next best thing is basketball, and since you'll be there, it'll be even better!"  
"Perhaps, but you are a girl, and the team I'm joining is the boys' team. How do you expect to join?"  
"I've never heard of a rule stipulating that a girl can't join, and I'll have you know that even if there was, I'd pull a few strings!" Naomi smiled way too innocently.  
"I'll pretend I never heard that part." Tetsuya picked his chopsticks back up. "But if you do manage to get permission to join, who says that my coach will let you?"  
"I'll find a way, Tetsu. Now eat up! Don't think I haven't noticed you were stalling because you don't want to eat your veggies. I steamed them just for you, you know." Naomi frowned.  
"I know. I'm sorry. I'll eat them."  
"Good."

"It isn't that bad Tetsuya. No need to grimace."  
"I can't help it, Naomi. I don't like it."

 ** _ó_** ** _The Other Kuroko_** ** _ó_**

The rest of the day went by passively. Nothing too lively happened, apart from Kagami getting scolded by their homeroom teacher (Tetsuya had the feeling it'd become a regular occurrence).

It was then time for extracurricular activities. Of course, most sports clubs hadn't begun either, for their own reasons, so Tetsuya's plan was perfectly timed. The only way a phantom could possible say anything would be to leave a message, one that everyone could see, if you get what I mean.

Tetsuya had chosen the courtyard as a canvas, because it could be seen from most of the school's buildings, more particularly from the coach's class.

"Tetsu, here's the chalk you asked for. What are you going to write anyway?"

Naomi, who he knew would tag along, was already done making sure that nobody would come over and gotten chalk, was excited to see her brother's message. She wanted to know what exactly was his motivation, especially since he had been secretive about it.

"How about you go up to the second-years' floor, and tell me if you can see it." Tetsuya bent down and started to write.  
"M'kay, if it's what you want."

Naomi took all her time climbing up the stairs, going through the halls, finding the classroom with the best view, wanting to see her brother's work as soon as she got to her final destination.

She was so excited, she could barely contain how hype she was. She stood at a window of class 2-A, ready to be blown away be her brother's heart-felt motivation, but…

"…Wha…?"

…she couldn't see anything. She couldn't see what her brother wrote, heck, she couldn't even see her brother!

She took out her phone and shot him a text, but the notification sound that came from behind her made her understand.

"Tetsu… where is it? I cant see anything!" Naomi pointed towards the window.  
"What do you mean? I wrote it out in large characters, you should be able to… I can't see it." Tetsuya cut himself off.  
"Don't skulk, Tetsu—don't grow mushrooms on your head! We can fix it, I'm sure we can!" Naomi grabbed her brother's hand and dragged him out effortlessly towards the courtyard.

"I've got an idea, but we're going to need a lot more chalk. Also, we'll be here for a while, so how about going to a restaurant for dinner?" Naomi asked as she rolled up her sleeves.  
"Sure? What exactly will we be doing?"  
"Watch and imitate, Tetsu. Copy me, you'll get it."  
"That reminds me of a copycat I know." Tetsuya mumbled, rolling his sleeves up, as did his twin.

 ** _ó_** ** _The Other Kuroko_** ** _ó_**

"I'm honestly surprised that you'd thought of bolding out the words and drawing a basketball." Tetsuya took a sip of his water, a bit impatient to get his vanilla milkshake.  
"I'm surprised that you didn't." Naomi countered. "You always seemed to be smarter, but I guess things change, huh?"  
"Says the one who forgot her bag at school, on her very first day."Tetsuya motioned to the pair of bags beside him.  
"Just because I forgot my bag, it doesn't mean I'm not smarter than you!" Naomi pouted.  
"Just like me not bolding words out. It doesn't mean I'm not smarter either, Naomi."

Naomi pursed her lips and turned her head away from Tetsuya in mock anger, earning a small chuckle from her brother. Would he ever stop teasing her?

"Here are your beverages. Please wait a moment, we'll be back with your food." The waitress bowed to Naomi as she placed both vanilla milkshakes in front of her.  
"Excuse me, miss? One of those is mine." Tetsuya raised his hand a little, as a way to signal his presence.  
"KYAH!" said waitress jumped in surprise.  
"Tetsu, I've told you not to scare people like that. Let me do the talking if they don't notice you." Naomi giggled.  
"But it's insulting."  
"I-I-I-I'm sorry, sir! It won't happen again!" the waitress bowed and quickly ran into the kitchen.  
"You can be devious at times, do you know that?" Naomi smirked.  
"I learned from the best." Tetsuya replied, taking a sip of his milkshake.  
"Are you implying that—"

"Kurokocchi is on a date?!"

Tetsuya would've face-palmed, had he not shown himself as neutral to Kise Ryota.

Of all the restaurants, of all of Tokyo, of all of Japan, he just had to show up there, didn't he? Kise should be given the annual award of the worst timing, he really deserved one. Or three, considering how he'd always managed to show up at the wrong time, even in Teiko.

"I'm not on a date, Kise-kun. I'm having dinner." Tetsuya explained.  
"Oh, I see, then I suppose you wouldn't mind it, if I joined you, right?" he flashed a smile to Naomi, the one that made girls hearts go 'doki-doki', the one that made women faint, the one that annoyed Tetsuya to no end.  
"Only if it's okay with Tetsu." Naomi really wanted to tell him to go away, but he seemed to know her twin well enough to give him a nickname, so she let him decide.

One thing that Tetsuya absolutely loathed about Kise was his ability to make women fall for him with a smile. It wasn't that he was jealous or anything, he just didn't want his sister becoming one of those women. He'd never been happier to see Kise's charms not work. (Kise had tried using them on a teacher to get a passing grade, once, and it had not ended well. At all.)

Kise was surprised that the girl before he hadn't had a better reaction. A small, straightforward and curt reply was all he got. Not even a small, shy smile, or a surprised gasp, or anything.

"You can have a seat, Kise-kun. What are you doing here?" Kuroko asked.  
"Ah! Thank you for having me. I actually just finished at sunset themed photo shoot and decided to have dinner here since it isn't to far from the train station." Kise replied taking a seat close to Naomi.

'She seems a bit familiar, though…'

Naomi was now feeling a bit annoyed. Did the blonde bimbo not know how to take a hint?  
She pushed her chair away from the blonde, in a painfully obvious attempt to get away from him, which deeply wounded Kise, and amused Tetsuya.

How could any teenage girl his age not be flattered that he chose to sit by them? Did he not know who he was?

"I believe I haven't introduced myself." Kise decided to remedy to that. "My name is Kise Ryota, a model for Zunon Boy, and a member of the Generation Of Miracles, all-rounder in basketball!" he winked.  
"Wow, how interesting, I never thought I'd meet a model, it's my lucky day." Naomi's uninterested, sarcastic tone brought tears to Kise's eyes.

"How cruel!" he whined. "To think that there is someone who actually doesn't like me! A girl too! Kurokocchi, say something!"  
"Naomi, if you don't like him, just admit it. It's rude to say one thing while being completely obvious that it isn't true."  
"Kurokocchi! So mean to me…" Kise pouted.

"Here are your orders, miss—K-K-KISE RYOTA!"

The maid nearly dropped the tray she held in her arms at the sight of the model.

As a result of her screaming, the total female population turned around, hearts in their eyes.

Well, at least Kise knew he wasn't losing in popularity, nor beauty.

"Excuse me, miss. We'd like to have our food now." Tetsuya once more made the waitress jump, this time with a mischievous glint shining in his eyes.  
"Tetsu, I've told you to stop purposely scaring people. I know they make funny expressions sometimes, but still!" Naomi stifled a giggle.  
"Sorry." Tetsuya gave a small smile, that didn't go unnoticed by Kise.

Kise was now surprised. Kurokocchi, made a girl, who hated him, laugh, and she made him smile? Was the world coming to an end, or did something he wasn't aware of happen?

"Wow, Kurokocchi, I didn't know you were good with girls! Especially the pretty ones!" Kise winked at the girl next to him.  
"Do you have something in your eye, Ki-san? It's twitching, and quite frankly, it's creeping me out."

Kise's jaw dropped at that last part. His wink was creeping her out?! And did she just call him yellow?!

"Naomi, he was winking." Tetsuya explained.  
"Really? Please never do that again, Ki-san. It makes me feel weird. It's disgusting, really." Naomi told the blonde.

'How mean can she get! I'm seriously feeling offended now!' Kise's eyebrow twitched. 'Apart from that, she really reminds me of that girl on…'

"Naomi-chan, I can call you that, right?" Kise smiled.  
"I don't care." Naomi started eating her soup, occasionally glancing at Tetsuya, who had decided to wait for Kise's order to come.  
"Y-yeah…" Kise felt his heart break. "Anyway, wouldn't you be the girl who won third place in Dancing With The Kid-Stars, in America?"  
"…That would be me. What of it?" Naomi merely glanced at her brother's confused look.  
"I love that show! I was rooting for you the whole season, I really wanted you to win! I'm a big fan!" Kise might've exaggerated. His favorite contests had been eliminated the week before the finals, so he really didn't care who won as long as it wasn't Brandon Shay and Leeza. (They did win in the end.)  
"Is that so? Well then, I'm sorry to say that it isn't mutual. I'm not your fan, and I think don't I'll ever be, Ki-san."

Kise was at his limits. How could she bully him like that?! No, he would not let it slide!

"Kurokocchi, I have a feeling this… friend of yours doesn't really appreciate me. Since she's already finished eating, I suppose you won't mind if we leave to eat elsewhere. I'm sure she'll understand."  
"You're asking him to ditch me? Oh, Ki-san, he'd never do that. Besides, I'd just follow you around." Naomi took a last sip of water.  
"And what makes you say that? I'll have you know that Kurokocchi and I share a deep bond, not even you could bring us apart. We've both been in the same basketball club, we both are part of the Generation of Miracles, and we share memories, good memories!" Kise said smugly.

He didn't know what to expect from the girl, but he surely didn't expect a smirk.

"Dropping the flirty mask, huh? I really doubt your bond is as deep as our, we share something you two never could, even if hell froze over, heaven became Earth and Earth burned to ashes as piglets learned to fly. Besides that, no matter how many good memories you have, I have the feeling there are a few bad ones straining your so-called 'relationship'. As for the heartfelt part of being in whatever the Generation of Miracles is, I don't care. You could both be in the NBA, and I still wouldn't give a damn if you were best friends. Actually, I feel like the whole GOM thing is just a lousy title because you're a little above average, and that I myself could beat you if I got serious." Tetsuya observed Naomi's calm, yet defying expression as she spoke to a visibly fuming Kise.

Since when had she been so daring as to challenge a stranger in a game he excelled at?

"Please, try. I really would like to see you beat me, may it be in basketball or anything else." Kise taunted.  
"You're on, 'Blondie'. Let's go Tetsu. I'll have this wrapped up so you can eat it at home. Also, we can stop by the grocery shop to pick up some vanilla, so I can make you some milkshakes tomorrow." Naomi smiled at the teal-haired boy as she stood up, ignoring Kise's reaction to the nickname 'Blondie'.

 ** _ó_** ** _The Other Kuroko_** ** _ó_**

"Are you sure you don't want to back out, Naomi-chan? I don't want to hurt you physically, just crush your pride!" Kise asked mockingly.  
"I'm sure. Even if I did manage to beat you, you're too small to do anything to me." Naomi smirked.  
"…You do realize I'm taller than you right?" Kise asked as he put his bag on the ground, next to Naomi's purse.  
"I never said I was speaking in terms of height!"

Tetsuya almost choked on the milkshake he bought at that comment. What could she possibly mean by that?!  
Innuendos, coming from his dear sister?! Had meeting Kise tainted her mind in some way, or had she already been tainted, and Kise had brought that side out?

"H-Hey!" Kise's face had never been redder. "I'm not s-small!"  
"Sure, but how would I know? I've never seen you play, but I can already tell your intelligence is low, you probably have no strategy and you have girl hands! You're probably small fry, nothing too important, just some statue that stands near the coach our something. What do they call those again?...oh! yes, a towel-boy. Yup, you fit the profile of a towel-boy."

Kise's face turned even redder. How could he have thought that?! Even though she did say it in the most misleading way…

Tetsuya let out a sigh of relief.  
His sister hadn't been tainted, but he'd have to talk to her about the unintentional innuendo.

"Well, when you're done blushing over your perverted thoughts, can we start? First to ten, right?" Naomi pulled off the sweater she'd worn on top of her blue jumpsuit and handed it to Tetsuya.  
"Yeah!"

Tetsuya threw the ball in the air.

'I've totally got this!' Kise thought.  
He'd jumped higher and sooner than Naomi, and got the ball, but when he looked down he was surprised to see that she actually hadn't jumped at all!  
'Trying to get me on the ground? That's a bit underhanded, but I can deal with it!'

He turned slightly to the side as he landed, expecting to have is side facing towards Naomi, but to his surprise, she was right before him!

"What?!" he exclaimed.

As soon as he noticed her, she quickly stole the ball, but Kise regained composure and kept a close mark on her. She suddenly stopped moving, just standing there, holding the ball in both her hands, as the model wondered what she was doing.  
Kise let his guard down, thinking that if she bounced the ball again, it'd be his, and he'd make an easy shot, but was surprised when she suddenly jumped and shot the ball.

It isn't unheard of, making a shot while being marked in the three-point perimeter, but Kise couldn't help but be impressed.  
Oh, he was going to like this game.

Naomi marked Kise, who had the ball, but due to her smaller posture, she couldn't do much. She had tried taking the ball away, but Kise swerved to the side and avoided her hand before making a three pointer as well.

"You're not bad." She said. "I'll give you that. Not really small fry, but still not good enough."

She knew Kise now had his guard up and that normal fakes wouldn't work with him, so she faked to the left, then to the right, where Kise had followed her, then once again to the left, ankle-breaking him, then she went around him and shot another three point.

"Six to three, huh? I suppose you try to catch up, Ki-san. I'm not sure your man-pride would survive if you were to be beaten by a hater, hm?" Naomi tossed the ball to Kise.  
"Of course." Kise replied catching the ball neatly. "But I don't I have to worry about that. I think you, however should be concerned, because you're going to be beaten by the one you hate."  
"Yeah, right! If you were to seriously beat me, I wouldn't hate you, actually, if you beat me seriously, I will agree to do a romantic photo shoot with you and help you bail out of modeling sessions for a week." Naomi offered, strategically distracting Kise from playing and successfully stealing the ball and running down the court to make another three-pointer, but Kise instantly caught up and blocked her.  
"What do I get out of modeling with you?" Kise asked.  
"…I don't know. Don't you want to?" Naomi questioned.

Kise double-crossed and slipped past Naomi before making a three-pointer, tying the score once again.  
"…I suppose I wouldn't mind." He admitted. "What would you want if you ever had a chance to win?"  
"When I win, I want three things." Naomi stated, dribbling. "First things, first, I never want you to be dishonest with me. No fake smiles, phony laughs, nothing like that. If you want to smile, go ahead, but if you feel the need to rip my head off, I'd willingly accept the challenge."

As she explained, she managed to bypass Kise and closer to her own net, but Kise stole the ball away and headed towards his own, Naomi hot on his heels.

"Two, I want you to admit I'm the one Tetsu likes more, and that I am the better person between the both of us, publically." She slapped the ball away from Kise's hand and ran after it, grabbing it before Kise could and making another three.

"Three, I'd like you to stop acting gay around Tetsu. He's straight, but the way you're acting will make other girls think he's into dudes, when one of them could actually be the love of his life!" Naomi exclaimed.  
"I-I don't act gay! I'm not gay either!" Kise blushed red.  
"Really? I could've sworn you were, though." Naomi shrugged. "If this were volleyball or table-tennis, I'd say this is my match-point, but since this is basketball, I'll call it a-point-away-from-victory. Are you sure you don't want to forfeit now, Ki-san?"  
"Forfeit? Hell, no."

Kise, who had the ball, had used the same fake trick Naomi had used on him earlier, and scored another three points.  
"A-point-away-from-victory, match-point, call it as you may…" Kise stole the ball. "But know that while you're one point away… I'm the one with victory!"

As if to prove his point, Kise shot the ball from mid-court, and smirked towards Naomi.

"Hey, Tetsu, is it me or Ki-san is really cheesy?"  
"He has his moments." Tetsuya nodded.  
"Hey, don't ignore me!" Kise walked over to Naomi. "I won fair and square, now you have to fill in your part of the contract!"  
"Hm? I said I'd do those things if you beat me seriously, and I still don't remember anything about being serious—oh I want some, Tetsu!"

Naomi took the extra milkshake Tetsuya had gotten her and sipped on it happily as Kise tried to understand.  
"What do you mean, you weren't serious?" he asked.  
"Were you? No, neither was I. I have many things to do tomorrow, so I'd rather not totally wear myself out."

Kise stared at the girl in awe. She managed to keep up with him and wasn't even serious? Sure, he hadn't been either, but the very fact that she'd been just playing around made it clear that she must have some serious talent.

"Kise-kun, please stop staring at her. It's rude." Tetsuya frowned as Kise jumped. "Also, Naomi, you clearly said if he won seriously, and even if you didn't go all out, you were pretty serious. As much as I don't want you doing this, you have to keep your word."  
"But Tetsu, i-"  
"No. You lost, so you have to." He reasoned.  
"…fine. But you owe me a present for this humiliation. Why must you befriend the odd ones, Tetsu?" Naomi asked dramatically.  
"Like you?" Tetsuya turned his head from Naomi's exasperated face.  
"Kurokocchi…is teasing a girl? This and he's speaking a lot more than usual…" Kise muttered.

For a girl to get along so easily with the phantom and get him to open up, she must've been special, and Kise had just been proved that she was. Where did she learn to play like that? She didn't have any special skill, but she still managed keep up. If unisex-teams existed in his school, he most definitely wouldn't mind playing by her side. Heck, if he could pull her into the Kaijo basketball team, he wouldn't hesitate to do so!

"You know, if it weren't for your poor manners and rude actions, I might've invited you to join my school, all fees paid, but since you are such a brat, I'll let it be, Naomicchi." Kise smiled.  
"Nao-what? Are you being weird again?" Naomi pulled her jacket back on.  
"Kise adds –cchi to the name of those he respects." Tetsuya explained, handing his twin her purse.  
"Oh, I see. Well then, I guess I'll call you Ryo. That's fine right?" Naomi gave a smile of her own.  
"Ah! Naomicchi!" Ryota death-hugged the girl, but was kicked off instantly.  
"Don't touch me! You're being gay again, a total drama queen, or king in your case." Naomi said.  
"I won, so I don't have to stop!" Ryota smiled. "Oh, I'll have to go, I have school tomorrow and the last train will pass any minute now!"  
"Wait, Kise-kun, what school do you go to?" Tetsuya asked.  
"Me? Oh, I went to Kaijo,  
"I'm in Seirin." Tetsuya answered.  
"Really? I've never heard of it, though." Kise told him.  
"That would be quite normal, since it's was only created a year ago." Naomi replied in her brother's place.  
"Eh? Since I know nothing of it, I'll just come by, one day. It's time for me to go, though, so bye! I'll text you when we'll be having the photo shoot, Naomicchi!"  
"Curse you, Blondie!"


	4. Chapter 4

Where are those carrot fans, of mine? You know, those who love carrots? ... no one?

Okay, so what if said carrot is Midorima Shintarou? Where are the fans now, hm? (Cheers erupt suddenly from nowhere) Yeah, i thought so.

Disclaimer: You know the drill, right? Right? Good. But just in case, i do not own KnB, the plot and OCs are my property.

Naomi let out a sigh of relief as the bell signaled the end of the day. As much as she missed going to school in Japan, the boring lessons would never change, and neither would her eternal urge to sleep through them.  
She slowly and neatly grabbed her stuff, looking over at the door to see if Tetsuya would come and get her, and she was disappointed.  
The male twin stood at the door with his usual emotionless demeanor, staring directly at her as if telling her to hurry up.  
"You know, Tetsu…" she spoke as the class emptied and he joined her inside. "…You never told me how it went with your coach. Did she like your pledge of loyalty to the club?" she smiled.  
"Who are you talking to, Miss Kuroko?" apparently the teacher, who hadn't left the room, hadn't noticed the boy that entered.  
"That would be me, sensei."  
"GYAH—Dear God, I've always known phantoms were real!" the teacher hid behind his desk.  
"Actually, sensei, I'm glad to say my brother is very alive, even though he can be… sneaky at times." Naomi told the teacher.

She just knew her brother wouldn't be able to keep a straight face if he were to speak for himself.

"Brother? Oh, yes, of course, now that you've mentioned it, you two are strikingly similar—how have I not noticed this before?"

Naomi giggled slightly, before tugging on her brother's arm to leave, but the teacher had once more held them back.

"Before you go, Miss-Kuroko, I'd like to have a word with you."  
"Of course, sensei." She detached her hand from her brother's arm and told him to go along, that she'd meet him at the gym.  
"I'll be fine, Tetsuya, besides, I'm only going to talk to sensei, then get changed. I'll be there before you can say… um…before you can say 'I'm not gay!'" Naomi whispered to him.  
"…When do you think I'd be in a situation where I'd say that?" Tetsuya rose a brow.  
"With Ryo, maybe? Either way, just go ahead, I'll be there soon."

Tetsuya sighed, but complied (only after sending the teacher a blood-chilling glare that clear meant if-you-are-a-predator-you'll-become-my-prey).

"So, sensei, do you need anything?" Naomi asked politely.  
"Actually, I was meaning to ask you about the club activities you want to partake in. It isn't obligatory, but since you're a transfer student and that you came in a little late, we prefer you mingle with at least club members, to avoid shunned students." The teacher said.  
"Ah, I appreciate your concern sensei, but I've already chosen which club I'd like to join. Is there anything else?" Naomi felt a little rude for downplaying the speech so quickly, but was too excited to get to the club.  
"Yes, Miss Kuroko. I've been summoned to a staff meeting to discuss the basketball clubs behavior from yesterday, but I have a few things I have to do. Would you please give his to the head of the meeting, the principal?"

Naomi wanted to say no. She wanted to say 'Nay, I'm busy!' and flip him off from making her late to practice. She really, really wanted to, but she didn't.  
"Of course, sensei. Would that be all now?"  
"Yes. Thank you very much, Miss Kuroko." The teacher started gathering his stuff after handing Naomi a folder.  
"Please, sensei, I prefer being called by my first name, due to American habits." Naomi sighed.  
At least she could prevent the three basketball club members in her—soon to be—basketball club from discovering her blood relation with Tetsuya.

She walked out of the class with a pout. It seemed like she'd be later than expected.

 ** _ó_** ** _The Other Kuroko_** ** _ó_**

"Focus, Kuroko!"

Practice had begun, and they'd started off with drills and warm-ups, but Tetsuya couldn't help but worry for his sister. The gym was exactly five minutes away from her classroom, and since she'd be changing in the girl's volleyball changing room, which itself was two minutes away, she should've been there in ten minutes, fifteen at most.

But twenty minutes had passed since he left her and still no sign of her! Was she hurt? No, no one would dare lay a finger on her…right…?  
But the predators… they could easily take advantage of her by ganging up and—

"Haven't you been listening?! The teams have been formed, go join yours! Geez, what's with these freshmen?! And Kuroko-kun—where is he?!"

Tetsuya felt that he'd regret not joining the team with the less members, so he did so before signaling his presence.

"I'm here, coach."  
"KYAH- but you weren't there—I just looked away for a second and—forget it. Let's just get on with the match." Riko pinched her forehead in annoyance before putting the whistle in her mouth, and blowing into it as she threw the ball in the air.

Kagami, who'd been playing the tip-off against Hyuuga, got the ball, bypassed his fellow first years and dunked the ball immediately.

"As amazing as dunking is, if that's all he can do, then what's the point?" Hyuuga asked.  
"Kagami does have a… Kaga-mean habit of not passing, too." Izuki inputted, earning him a punch for his captain.  
"Die, Izuki!"  
"I'm sure that if he worked with Kuroko-kun we'd get a powerful combo, but with the way he's playing, I doubt he'll do it. Not without encouragement, of course!" Riko grinned evilly from the sidelines.  
"Oi! You guys! If you get the ball, pass it to me, I'll score." Kagami told his teammates. "And you Kuroko… well, let's see how far these passes can take us."

Tetsuya frowned at the lack of team-play. He did believe (even if there was very little belief) that Kagami could beat the GoM with his help, but if he acted and thought like them, what use would it be, to try and beat them? It probably wouldn't even work that way!

The distinct sound of a whistle brought Kuroko's head back to the game.

Izuki was in possession of the ball, was ready to pass it to Hyuuga, and Kagami was to his right. Tetsuya observed the way he turned before waiting for the perfect opening.

'There!'

Tetsuya quickly stole the ball and passed it to Kagami, who fumbled with it a bit, but still managed to make the dunk.

The small forward phantom sighed. They needed to work on that. Desperately.

Speaking of need, he needed to know if his sister was safe. It wasn't normal for her to disappear for so long! If another minute passed without her showing up, he'd go look for her, regardless of—

"Kuroko-kun…are you staring at Kagami-kun?" Riko asked, a small excited glint in her eyes.  
"No, I wasn't. I was thinking of someone." Tetsuya immediately regretted saying that, because the whole court turned to look at him.  
"This person you're thinking of…would it be someone like um… a possible… boyfriend?" Riko's blush clearly made some of the second years uncomfortable, but they still were surprised by the possibility of the phantom being gay. (Just to be clear, they weren't discriminating or anything, they were just surprised).

"You're gay?!" Kagami exclaimed.  
"No." Tetsuya frowned. "I'm not g—"  
"Sorry I'm late Tetsu! I got lost after the teacher asked me a favor!"

All eyes turned from Tetsuya to the girlish voice that came from the gym's door, and said teenager let out a sigh of relief.

Naomi stood at the door in baggy basketball shorts, and the leggings she wore under defined her toned legs from boxing and dancing, basketball shoes, a large tank top that really did nothing to hide the neon-pink sports-bra she wore underneath, her hair tied up to the side of her head, and a black and pink sweatband on her left wrist.

"Naomi-san…?" Riko asked. 'Even if I'm not trying to analyze her, I can already see she has very high stats. Probably due to practicing more than one sport. She seems to have great stamina, speed and flexibility, her reflexes are good too…'

The girl skipped over to Tetsuya and gave him a side hug as she faced the coach.

"You can all call me Naomi, class 1-A. I'm here to join the team, if you don't mind!"

…

"EH?!"

Naomi flinched at the high frequency of their screams.  
"Geez, Tetsu, your team is loud!" Naomi told him, releasing him from the side hug.  
"Wait, you know Kuroko?" Kagami asked.  
"Of course I do, we're…what are we Tetsu?" Naomi asked.  
"Naomi and I are close friends, if you want." Tetsuya explained.  
"Yeah, I remember when you told the principal's grandson off when he was bothering her!" Furihata snapped.  
"I remember that too. I think that's the most talkative Kuroko has been around us." Kawahara added.  
"Naomi-san hugged him that day too, and even calls him by a nickname of his first name. That, and Kuroko doesn't use any honorifics with her, and he usually uses honorifics with everybody." Fukuda added.  
"You know her too? I'm starting to think she's popular." Tsuchida said.  
"I guess you could say that she is among us first-years. Everybody knows her, especially after the incident with the principal's grandson." Kawahara explained.  
"What are you doing here Naomi-san?" Riko asked.  
"I said I was here to join, right? Can I?" she smiled.  
"What do you mean join? I mean, having a manager wouldn't be bad but…" Hyuuga said.

Naomi frowned. She didn't want to be a manager! Hadn't Tetsuya explained that before she came?

"I want to join as a player on the team! Like, maybe a small forward, or even a point-guard!"

The team remained silent.

"Tetsu, didn't you talk to then about this? I thought you told them already!"  
"Sorry, I was worried about you and I forgot."

Silence remained for a while, the air became stuffy and tense.  
Was it such a bad thing, that she wanted to join the team as a player? Their coach was a teenager, a girl no less, so why couldn't she be a player?

"Um, Naomi-san, you are aware that this is a boy's basketball team, right?" Riko asked.  
"Yes, but that really shouldn't be a problem. Many girls have played on an all-boys team before, like Sydney Phillips. There is no rule that stipulates I can't join and play with you guys, so all you have to do is say yes!" Naomi smiled.  
"Say yes? No, it isn't that simple, Naomi-san. I mean, I personally wouldn't mind, but every single member on the team has to agree, including Takeda-sensei. Also, not that I want to sound un-feminist, or reversely-sexist, but to be able to join the boys team and not receive complaints from anyone, you'd have to be an amazing and above-average player, be able to keep up with the boys without favoritism or special treatment." Riko explained.  
"I understand." Naomi nodded. "Which is why I'd like to prove my worth. I'll play against any player you throw at me, and you'll be able to judge if I'm amazing and above-average enough to join with the guys; also, I never expected to receive any special treatment from anyone at all, as I'm fully aware of the injustice and problems it can be in the team. I'd rather be known as just one of the guys."

Naomi finished her rant as she picked up a ball and dribbled it a little.

 _'_ _She has a steady grip on the ball, a steady rhythm and the ball is practically bouncing up to her expecting-hand. She knows what she's doing.'_ Riko squinted her eyes, watching Naomi closely.

"…Very well. You'll go against Kagami-kun; if you manage to score three shots with him on defense, and if every player accepts you as a member, then I'll let you join. If he gets five baskets in before you reach three baskets, you shall not be accepted, even if everyone votes a yes." She spoke. "However, I have a close idea of what you can or can't do. Please try not to go all out with your other skills- as this is only basketball."  
"I'm perfectly capable of holding back, Riko-chan! I know better than to punch someone in basketball, I also know not to suddenly turn a one-on-one into a salsa, so don't worry." Naomi grinned sneakily to the coach.

The boys were partially stunned to hear their coach ask to hold back, but said nothing of it and cleared the court.

Kagami, however, felt highly offended when his coach had asked his opponent to hold back- and that she had openly accepted to do so!

He stood on the court putting himself immediately in a defensive stance, glaring at Naomi.

 _'_ _She seems familiar, though…'_ Kagami shook his head, as if chasing the thought, and focused on the girl, waiting for her to move, but she just… stood there.

"…Oh, so we've started?"

Tetsuya resisted the urge to face-palm at his twin's ridiculousness. Really, had she no sense of seriousness when it came to matters of people she had yet to provoke?

"Are you serious?!" Kagami raged.  
His coach really had to have a good reason to put her on offense. She had a disadvantage of height (obviously), of strength (somewhat) and speed (something he assumed by smelling her).

How could she possibly win against him?

Naomi looked over to her twin, who seemed bored and slightly annoyed with her stalling.  
' _Well then, time to get serious!_ '

Kagami almost felt relieved when Naomi bounced the ball, but that had quickly turned into anger when he realized that she had passed him.  
' _Damn!'_ He thought. ' _I was so busy focusing on when she'd act, rather than how she'd act!'_

Naomi smirked slightly as she noticed Kagami behind her from the corner of her eye, and suddenly stopped running.

Kagami felt a bit surprised, seeing the girl's action, and unconsciously slowed down while trying to figure out what was going on, when she shot the ball from the three point-line.

"When did you get there?!" Kagami yelled.  
"Who, me? Why, I've been here the whole time." Naomi retrieved the ball, ignoring the blazing look from Kagami, and got back into position. "Show me what you've got, tiger!" she taunted.

Kagami's face darkened, and everyone held their breath for what'd happen next—an angry basketball idiot was one to commit fouls and be aggressive, and judging by the look in the red-head's eyes, he wasn't far from such a state.

"Oh, believe me, I'll crush you!"

Kagami stood before the short girl, putting as much pressure as he could on her, turning his anger into determination and will-power, however, the girl seemed entirely unaffected by it, as she faked to the left, crossed to the right, and shot a three pointer.

"Woah…"  
"How does she do that?!"  
"Kagami has been owned by a girl?!"  
"That's some sick talent… doing such simple moves but making them look impossible to counter!"

Naomi dribbled the ball a little, waiting for Kagami to get his head back in the game (as he was distracted by the comments), but was surprised when Kagami quickly stole the ball and dunked it before she could catch up.

"Wow, that's some strength you've got there, tiger. Think you could teach me?" Naomi whistled.  
"Like hell, I'll teach you!" was the only response she got.  
"If that's the case…" Naomi frowned. "…I guess I'll learn it myself!"

Naomi performed a crossover, once more passing Kagami with simplicity, and running over to the basket.

"A jump-shot...? No… she's going to dunk!" Hyuuga exclaimed.

Naomi jumped as high as she could, arms stretched out to the maximum, as she came closer and closer to the basket, when… gravity did it's work and brought her back to the ground.

"EH?!"

"If you're going to dunk, do it properly!" Kagami yelled, grabbing the ball and dunking it himself.  
"Huh? But it was my first try, I'm not perfect you know." Naomi pouted, taking the ball. "Besides, you couldn't have gotten it right on your first try either!"  
"Whatever!" the red-head snarled at the girl.

'Seems like I'll have to pull a Tetsu, hm?' thought Naomi.

With a terrifying smirk, Naomi put all her force into the ball as she bounced it.

The loud noise it produced caused Kagami to look away from her completely, and she took profit of that slight moment of distraction to go past Kagami, towards the basket, and gave her the needed opportunity to try to dunk again!

…Keyword: Try.

She fell short of a few centimeters, losing the ball once more to Kagami, who scored another point.

"If you're going to do something, do it right!" the red-head yelled.  
"…Tetsu, what are the scores again?" she turned away from the infamous idiot and towards the phantom.  
" Three baskets to two, with Kagami-kun in the lead."  
"I can try to do it once more, right? The dunk!"

 _'_ _Is she… is she an idiot?!'_

As if reading the audiences minds, Tetsuya sent a chilling glare at everyone who had thought the previous, and nodded at Naomi.

"Of course you can, Naomi. Just don't get too carried away and hurt yourself."  
"M'kay, I'll be careful!" the girl sent a Kise-like smile towards Tetsuya, who inwardly cringed, and continued playing against Kagami.

"How did you do that?" the latter gritted his teeth.  
"Do what?" Naomi smiled innocently.  
"You know what I mean! You just disappeared, like Kuroko!"  
"Oh, that? I guess I'm kinda good at trying new things. It's my third time trying to do that particular move, too, and it's my first time getting it right." Naomi waved her hand nonchalantly at Kagami and drove past him.  
"Third time?! There's no way someone could learn a trick like that by doing it three times!" Kagami put pressure on the girl, occasionally trying to swipe away the ball.  
"Wanna bet, eyebrows? Cause I can assure you…" she paused to drive once more past the player, rushing to the basket and jumping. "…'Three times' a charm' is something that I live by!"

And at that, she dunked the ball, earning her the last point she needed, meeting half the conditions set for her to join the team…

"…I DEMAND I REMATCH! I WON'T LOSE AGAIN!"

…and earning herself a new rival.

"Aaaaaaand, game over!" she gave Kagami a thumbs up.  
"Don't make fun of me!"

The other members of the team all seemed to agree on the fact that the girl had extraordinary talent and could be a great addition to the team, while coach seemed a little skeptical.

' _She's capable of a lot more than she shows… I can't say for sure, but it does seem like the first time she dunked. However, I can easily tell that she missed the first two on purpose… why would she do that?_ '

"Did you see that Tetsu, I dunked the ball!"  
"I did see it, but there was no need to show off."  
"Why can't you just say you're jealous, hm?"  
"I'm not jealous, Naomi. In fact, I'm quite glad I can't dunk."  
"Huh? Why is that?"  
"Because if I did, you'd feel bad about being inferior to me."  
"Says you, Tetsu. I'm the very definition of perfection; you are in no way superior to me!"  
"Especially in stupidity."

Riko attentively watched the banter between the two bluenettes in curiosity. Wasn't Kuroko more of the silent type?

She shook her head and blew once more into her whistle.

"Alright, all those in favor of Naomi-san joining us, please say so!"

Almost immediately, Fukuda, Kawahara, Furihata, Koganei, Mitobe and Hyuuga expressed there acceptance. Izuki hesitated a while, before nodding, as did Tsuchida. Takeda-sensei gave that one smile of his, not needing words to give his opinion, and Kagami just grunted a yes, earning a few looks.

"What?!"  
"Oh, nothing… I just though you'd be a little…" Hyuuga scratched his neck.  
"What? You think I'd let her have her way, fooling around, and then just let her leave? Oh, hell no. I'll have my revenge first, I swear it!"  
"…yeah, I knew you'd be immature about this." Hyuuga sighed.  
"Okay, so that's everyone except… Kuroko?" Riko gasped.  
"Eh? Why, Tetsu?" Naomi whined.  
"…The predators…"  
"…We've talked about this yesterday, Tetsu. I promise to kick anyone I find overbearing in the nuts, and to karate chop them if you like!" she grinned.

' _How can she say that with a smile?!'_

"…Well, that's convincing, but what if you get hurt?"  
"Jeez, Tetsu, you worry so much for my welfare, I might just blush!"  
"Please don't say stuff like that." Tetsuya sighed.

Here came the emotional, long and convincing rant.

"Tetsuya, we both know I can defend myself, and if I couldn't I know you'd do it for me. I'm joining this club because it's what we both need, and because I want to be by your side, hm? I know how dangerous it could be for me to play with guys, especially when fouls get involved, and dirty players too, but I'll handle it, and you'll be there for me too, right?"  
"Always." Tetsuya nodded.  
"If so, then there is no need to worry, hm? Also, I'm sure you'd take profit of being with the team to eat unhealthy things, so it's also a way to keep a close eye on your diet."

After that somewhat beautiful-emotional-'romantic' moment (and Riko secretly fangirling at the cuteness) (and the boys cursing the former Teiko player), Tetsuya had given the okay, thus letting Naomi join the team.

"Welcome to the team, Naomi-san!"  
"Please take care of me!"

 ** _ó_** ** _The Other Kuroko_** ** _ó_**

No matter how many times Naomi tried to tell herself it wasn't true, she'd have to accept the fact that she had not only gotten separated from her brother, but also was lost, in Tokyo, the fifth most dangerous prefecture in Japan.

It was all well, though. She and her brother had gone to eat dinner, and then got a few milkshakes, then went roaming around the city, and she suddenly lost her brother. She went looking for him and ended up getting lost, herself.

It didn't make any sense, really!

She sighed before stopping in front of a random house.  
She'd have to ask for help, and it seemed a lot safer to ask someone who was inside a house, rather than someone standing around. (Seriously, those people were fucking creepy, staring at you like a piece of meat!)

She walked up to the door of a nice and slightly outdated looking house (which was also a comfortable shade of green that somewhat soothed her) and sighed.

Oh, how she hoped it wasn't the house of some perverted old man.

She knocked gently on the traditional styled door. At first, she was startled by the immediate response of the door opening, and even more when she saw the face of a man towering over her, but calmed down, even if just a little bit, when she noticed the white coat he was wearing.

"Good evening, Miss. Can I help you?" the man asked as he gave her a tired yet welcoming smile.  
"Oh, I'm sorry to bother at such a late hour! I'm Naomi! It just so happens that, um, I'm kind of, uh, lost?" she stammered nervously.  
"Lost? In this part of the town?" the man frowned.  
"Actually, I just returned from America, and I've never lived in Tokyo before now… I was with my brother up until earlier, but we were separated earlier, and, well…I-I don't want to be a bother, and, um, all I ask for are directions, on how to get from here to uh… Seirin High School? O-or Maji Burger, or something like that?"  
"Nonsense!" the man laughed warmly, surprising Naomi greatly. "It is far too late to let you go home alone like that. How about you come in? My wife was making some tea; I'm sure she wouldn't mind sharing some with you. Once you've warmed up a little, because I doubt you, being in the cold for so long, aren't freezing, and then my son will walk you home, hm?"

Naomi wasn't feeling it. Sure, the man before her gave off a trusting vibe, but that never meant that it wasn't fake! He could be a psychopath for all—

"Tou-chan, why are you at the door?" a sleepy, muffled voice came from behind the man, who bent down to the source.  
"Ah, the little princess is awake? We should get you back to bed, Himeko-chan." The man picked her up. "Please do come in, Naomi-san."

…Okay, so he seemed suddenly very trust worthy. She had brainlessly followed him in at that point.

"Pardon the intrusion. I'm very sorry for bothering you all, so late." Naomi bowed upon entering, but receiving a light chuckle made her lift her head.  
"Don't worry about it. I had my fair share of getting lost in my own teenage years, so I know how it is."

Naomi smiled towards the beautiful green-haired woman, dressed in a white kimono.

"I'm Midorima Nakano, this is my husband, who has surely forgotten to present himself, Midorima Hayato. This is our daughter, Himeko." The woman took the sleepy child from her husband.  
"Pleased to meet you all, Midorima-san, Midorima-san, Midorima-chan. I'm Naomi." She smiled.  
"Please, just call me by my first name, or uncle. It gets confusing otherwise." Hayato waved it off.  
"Me too, Naomi-san. I hope being so informal doesn't bother you." Nakano gave a motherly grin.  
"Of course not. I lived in America, these past three years, so it's actually quite common for me."

Nakano excused herself to put the child to bed, and Hayato did the same, but to get changed.

"Make yourself at home, Naomi-san. We won't be long." Hayato waved.  
"Thanks again, Hayato-san!"

Naomi sat by the wooden table et in the middle of the room, observing the asago flower-buds placed on it, waiting patiently for summer to go into bloom.

She fingered the hem of her skirt patiently, when she heard a door open.

"…Who are you, and what are you doing here –nodayo?"

It wasn't intentional, not at all, but Naomi let out a giggle.

What was _that_? 'Nodayo'? the accent he had was funny too.

"Oi, answer me before I call the police."

Naomi took a good look at the boy before sighing. He wasn't the type to take a joke, hm?

"I'm Naomi. I'm lost, and Hayato-san offered me to have some tea before his son takes me home, son who apparently is you, if genetics aren't wrong."  
"Obviously." The boy scoffed. "…What is your sign? And blood type?"  
"Aquarius, and A-blood type. Why?"

The teenager frowned and didn't reply, which really irked Naomi, but she decided to be the bigger person and didn't let it show.  
Instead, she asked him why he was holding a bottle of magnesium.

"Do you have bone problems or something?"  
"Of course not, fool." She frowned at the comment. "This is Cancer's lucky item today. Even though Cancer's were ranked first today, one is never too sure. Oha-Asa is never wrong."  
"Oha-Asa…?" she asked.

"I see you two are getting along." Nakano entered the room with a tray and four cups of tea.  
"Okaa-san." The teenager acknowledged her presence.  
"I'm sure he hasn't told you, but this is Shintarou. The men of this family have great problems when it comes to presenting themselves to the female gender." Nakano shared, giggling a bit.  
"Okaa-san, please don't say embarrassing things."  
"Now, now, Shintarou." Hayato reentered the room in a kimono of his own. "It's true, we just have to be men about it and accept the fact. Rather than that, I thought I overheard you talking about Oha-Asa again."  
"It seems our guest has no knowledge of the zodiacs and their impact in our lives." Shintarou frowned.  
"Actually, I am well aware of the zodiacs impact, and I know all the signs, both western and Chinese. Mind you, I always listened to the horoscope before going to school, in America. I just haven't really found any reliable horoscope here in Japan—oh, I'm sorry, you probably don't want to here me rant on, and on!" Naomi scratched her neck in embarrassment.  
"Ah, it's fine. With Shintarou, here, we're quite used to it, but it's nice to know he isn't the only one of his age thinking about such things." Nakano smiled knowingly.  
"It's more of a habit than an interest, really, but yeah. This tea is also delicious, Nakano-san. Is the earl grey?"  
"Ah, thank you, Naomi-san. It is earl grey. How did you know?"  
"I tend to drink some when I'm nervous; it has a really soothing effect."  
"You find so too? I'm glad we see things the same way, Naomi-san." Hayato nodded.  
"Well, not that I don't appreciate being here, but I must go now; I'm sure my brother is worried sick, by now." Naomi got up after finishing her tea.  
"Of course, Naomi-san. You're welcome back her any time, so don't hesitate to visit us again." Nakano smiled, standing up herself.  
"Yes, we will happily have you over. Also, Himeko surely will be glad to meet you too." Hayato stood next, and signaled for his son to do the same. "Shintarou, accompany her home. She doesn't know the way, so take her somewhere she finds familiar, and once she gets somewhere she recognizes, help her all the way home, hm?"  
"…alright, Otou-san." Shintarou sighed.

Naomi put her shoes back on and stepped out of the door, with Shintarou following behind her.

"Thank you again, Hayato-san, Nakano-san!" Naomi smiled.  
"Any time, Naomi-san."

The couple then closed the door and Naomi turned to Shintarou.

"…so…"  
"Where do you live?"  
"Not really far from the Maji Burger near Seirin High…"  
"I see. Let's go. It's unwise for the both of us to be out at such an hour."

Naomi silently followed the boy, feeling much more tense than when she met his father. He walked a couple of steps in front of her, seeming totally uncaring as to if she was keeping with his pace.

She really didn't understand why he seemed to hate her so much when she hadn't done anything to him at all. The thought caused her to let out a sigh, that caught his attention.

"…If I recommended you a reliable horoscope service, would you follow it?" he asked.  
"Uh?...I guess I'd try it out and see for myself if it is reliable first." Naomi mused.  
"…Try Oha-Asa. Not that I care or anything. It's just annoying to think that you could end up losing faith because the lack of liable sources." Shintarou never turned to look at her as he spoke.  
"…I'll take your word for it, Shintarou-san. I'll give it a week, see for myself." Naomi nodded slightly.  
"…also, do you go to school at Seirin High?"  
"Yes, I do. You must go to another school in Tokyo—I'm pretty sure I'd remember seeing you in school."  
"Correct. I attend Shuutoku High."  
"That's cool."

Silence reigned one more before Shintarou spoke again.

"Who is this brother of yours?"  
"Oh, my brother? I doubt you know him. He's a really silent guy."  
"So silent as for you to not notice you are no longer with him?"  
"A-ah, well, that isn't exactly…" Naomi fumbled on her words before pouting. "He's a ghost-like human, okay?! It isn't really my fault if I lost him in the crowd, even if I usually see him better than most!"  
"Don't embarrassing things such as screaming in the middle of the street." Shintarou reprimanded.  
"O-oh. Sorry."  
"…We're here."  
"Oh, good! My house is that way!" Naomi pointed off towards the park that was slightly visible from where she was, but suddenly gasped. "Tetsu!"

She obviously noticed the worried frown on his face, but still ran over and gave him a huge hug (suffocating him).

"Kuroko." Naomi slightly released Tetsuya, giving him enough space to be able to talk (and mostly breathe), surprised that Shintarou knew her twin.  
"Midorima-kun." Tetsuya kept his poker face on, concerned by the fact that Naomi was in company of his former teammate.

"You know each other?"  
"Of course, fool. I wouldn't know his name otherwise." Shintarou scoffed.  
"Refrain from insulting Naomi so casually, Midorima-kun." Tetsuya didn't hide his frustration, earning a look of shock from Shintarou.  
"Ne, it's okay, Tetsu. It's his way of acting, and he helped me found my way too. Just take me home, already. I'm tired, and we have school tomorrow!"

Shintarou was genuinely puzzled by the way Naomi addressed Tetsuya so casually, and how he replied in the same manner, and even standing up for her with more aggressiveness than he'd ever displayed before (which he actually never displayed in the two years he'd known him).  
"…Are you perhaps Naomi-san's brother?"

"…Who knows, Shintarou-san? Maybe he's my brother, or my closest friend—he could be a total stranger that I only met once too…"  
"That last theory is impossible, as Kuroko never greets someone so casually, as to let them hug him when he could have easily dodged them. You mentioned having a phantom like sibling, and Kuroko happens to have the title of the 6th phantom player. It is no coincidence."  
"…you are right. I am Kuroko Naomi, his twin sister, but no one else needs to know that. Well, see you later Shintarou-san!"

Naomi flashed him a smile (that somehow got on his nerves) and dragged the older twin away, not sparing another glance at the green-head.

She was really a strange one, even for an Aquarius.


	5. Author's note

Hi, readers~ Kami here~! First of all, I want to say thank you for reading the story, and making it a favorite, or just downloading it~

Now, I hate author notes, so I'll make it short and sweet.

I know that I haven't updated since August, and even if it seems like a stretch, I truly had nothing to continue with. The main reason being, I lost 25k worth of words on the story. I had written up to chapter eight, chapter five being the longest, but the computer got damaged and I lost everything I had on it...

After that, I just hadn't had enough inspiration to continue writing it or to rewrite it, even.

However, I promise I'll try to get chapter five up as soon as possible. In the meantime... You could maybe read another one of my stories...? Not yet posted, but I'll get to that. It's another KnB fanfic, so maybe you'll like it...?

Shoutout to errbody~ Laterz~


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